WP Ed. Board: Trump attacks 'socialists' at home, but in Hong Kong he just sided with the Communists
Source: Washington Post
Trump attacks ‘socialists’ at home, but in Hong Kong he just sided with the Communists
By Editorial Board July 22 at 7:37 PM
CHINESE OFFICIALS and state media were in high dudgeon Monday about minor acts of vandalism following the latest mass demonstration in Hong Kong. Protesters who threw eggs at China’s liaison office and splashed ink on the state emblem “trample on the rule of law,” roared a front-page editorial in the People’s Daily.
Yet Beijing had little to say about the genuinely shocking incident that followed: an assault by an organized group of men on people returning from the demonstration. Journalists, an opposition legislator and bystanders were among at least 45 people savagely beaten with wooden canes and metal rods by thugs dressed in white — apparently to distinguish themselves from black-clad protesters. Police were slow to respond and took no action against the vigilantes.
The high-voltage rhetoric and ugly violence were signs that the regime of Xi Jinping is shedding restraints in its response to the mass movement that has emerged in Hong Kong this summer to defend the city’s autonomy and demand greater freedoms. It means that, more than ever, Hong Kong’s people need the support of established democracies.
Unfortunately, President Trump on Monday sided with the dictatorship. Asked to react to Sunday’s events, the president explicitly endorsed the Xi regime’s behavior. “I think President Xi has reacted very responsibly,” he told reporters. “He’s allowed [the protests] to go on for a long time.”
In essence, Mr. Trump all but offered Mr. Xi an invitation to crack down on a movement that is fighting for liberal values such as free speech and the rule of law. The protests began in reaction to a proposed extradition law that would have undermined Hong Kong’s independent courts and allowed China to pursue its enemies in the city. When the measure was shelved, the marches continued as opposition leaders called for an investigation of police violence.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/hong-kong-needs-support-from-democracies-trump-sided-with-the-dictatorship/2019/07/22/bbbe2e5e-ac9d-11e9-8e77-03b30bc29f64_story.html
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This is far from the first time Trump has embraced a dictator's idea of order. He repeatedly call the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests a riot, not to mention his love affair with Kim Jong-un.
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